STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A huge crowd peacefully rallied in South Beach to voice support for Israel in the increasingly tense and violent confrontation with opposing forces in Gaza.

Leaders of the borough's Jewish community offered prayers, politicians committed to backing their cause, and coordinators gave out balloons, flags and T-shirts as the large, vocal crowd gathered Thursday evening with a march that ended at the boardwalk.

The escalating tensions were triggered last month when three Israeli teens were kidnapped while hitchhiking.

Following about two weeks of extensive searching, their bodies were found partially buried in rocks not far from where they were abducted. One was also a U.S. citizen.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Islamist militant group Hamas with responsibility for the deaths.

"Hamas is responsible, and Hamas will pay," Netanyahu said the day the bodies were discovered.

That was followed by the killing of a Palestinian teen, reportedly as revenge, and the Israelis arrested and charged suspects in that incident.

In the days that followed, rockets were fired into Israel, some targeting Tel Aviv, and Israel's military response has grown increasing severe.

STRONG CONNECTION

"I feel such a strong connection to the Jewish people. We're one united nation, with one heart," said Scott Kalmikoff, associate executive director of the Island chapter of the the Council of Jewish Organizations. "I was very proud to stand out there last night and show support."

The "Staten Island Stands With Israel Rally" was scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m. at the Dolphin fountain, but supporters were showing up as early as 5:30 p.m.

The gathering ended around 9:15 p.m. and the NYPD reported mored than 1,800 people attended, making this the largest pro-Israel gathering to ever take place on Staten Island, organizers said.

GROUND INVASION

The Israel Defence Forces ground invasion of the Gaza Strip in now in its eighth day, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported on its website.

In Israel, 38 people have been killed since July 8, including 35 soldiers, two Israeli civilians and a Thai worker.

The army announced on Friday that an Israeli soldier whom Hamas had claimed to have captured earlier this week had in fact died in battle on that day.

More than 800 Palestinians have been reported killed so far, according to Haaretz.

The U.N. chief and the U.S. secretary of state made a new attempt Friday to nail down a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas, as Israel's 18-day military operation in the Gaza Strip fueled unrest in the West Bank, where five Palestinians were killed in protests.

Despite the truce efforts, Israeli airstrikes hit more than 80 sites in Gaza while militants in the tiny Mediterranean strip fired 50 rockets at Israel, the army said.

Among the sites hit in Gaza were 30 homes, including that of a leader of the Islamic Jihad group who was killed along with his sons, Palestinian officials said.

'EXTREMELY PERSONAL'

"Along with all of our families there, a lot of us have relatives serving, so its extremely personal," said Kalmikoff. "We gave the people a chance to stand up for them."

Israel launched the military operation on July 8, with a massive air campaign to stop relentless Hamas rocket fire into Israel and expanded it last week to a ground war aimed at destroying tunnels the military says Hamas has constructed from Gaza into Israel for attacks against Israelis.

Commenting on the rally, Kalmikoff said: "It was just excellent, such a great turnout. The Jewish community around Staten Island really stands behind Israel.

"We did it on the boardwalk purposely, so people could see what were doing."

(Associated Press material was used in this report.)

Editor's note: A correction has been made to an earlier version of this story that said Hamas extremists have claimed responsibility for the death of three Israeli teens who were kidnapped while hiking.